By Niki Kelly | Editor-in-Chief
Choose your fighter! Today is both National Cheesecake Day and National Chili Dog Day. Maybe both?
Just how exactly are state agencies using artificial intelligence? We have some examples. And it’s a bit more than funny social media posts.
A popular student history contest loses a key supporter amid cuts.
Some crisis pregnancy centers use ultrasounds but don’t have medical training or licenses.
Plus, today’s commentary applauds Gov. Mike Braun’s stand for lower utility rates.
State agencies are finding new ways to use artificial intelligence in their duties. (Getty Images)
Indiana state agencies turning to AI for behind-the-scenes work
By Jack Forrest
Drone flights without an operator. Video analysis to expedite Indiana State Police investigations. Case law summaries.
These are just a few examples of how state agencies are using, or were pursuing, artificial intelligence.
The Indiana Management Performance Hub, the state agency that helps approve planned use of AI in the executive branch, OK’d 135 plans to implement AI programs from January 2025 through June 2026, according to a summary provided to the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
Layoffs and cuts are happening at the Indiana Historical Society. (Photo by Niki Kelly/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Indiana Historical Society terminates history contest sponsorship
By Mackenzi Klemann
The Indiana Historical Society terminated its sponsorship for a popular student contest last week — the latest in a series of budget cuts.
The Historical Society informed National History Day last Friday that it would no longer sponsor its Indiana competition, National History Day Executive Director Cathy Gorn told the Capital Chronicle.
The notification came hours after the Historical Society laid off 11 workers from departments overseeing exhibits, education and library services, first reported by the IBJ.
COMMENTARY
Utility bills have taken center stage in a fight between regulators and Gov. Mike Braun. (Getty Images)
Delivering bold leadership for Hoosier affordability
By Jim Purucker
In a time when every extra dollar on a utility bill hurts working families, seniors and all Hoosiers, Gov. Mike Braun has shown exactly the kind of decisive, ratepayer-first leadership Indiana needs.
His swift decision to change leadership at the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission sends an unmistakable message: utility companies must tighten their own belts before asking Hoosiers to dig deeper into their pocketbooks.
NATIONAL NEWS
Stanton Healthcare network, which unlike many other centers has a medical accreditation, offers traditional crisis pregnancy center services as well as free medical services including limited obstetric ultrasounds and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment. (Photo by Otto Kitsinger for States Newsroom)
Crisis pregnancy centers fight for ultrasound use in clinics without government oversight
By Sofia Resnick
The auditors trying to learn how a dozen crisis pregnancy centers in Louisiana had spent nearly $1.2 million ultimately could not figure it out.
Despite a new law, the state had failed to establish a process for the centers or to track how they spent taxpayer dollars. That was surprising enough, auditors said. But then they learned something else: Every center they reviewed offered ultrasounds and other medical services. Yet none was licensed as a healthcare facility.
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